Maine Wire Reporter Seamus Othot contributed to this report.
A Maine Republican is looking to crackdown on the foreign organized crime networks that have spread throughout rural Maine since 2020, using the proceeds of illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking to build a lucrative blackmarket drug empire in the state.
[RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…]
According to a leaked Department of Homeland Security memo, Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (ATCOs) control more than 270 properties throughout Maine, properties that are used to grow and trafficking marijuana illegally.
But Mainers don’t need federal law enforcement’s confirmation to tell them about the scope and scale of the problem.
Since the Maine Wire began reporting details of the locations and the property owners, there have been more than two dozen properties raided by various local and county law enforcement agencies.
Read TRIAD WEED from the Maine Wire
- At Rural Maine Marijuana Grow, Cops Find Asian Passports, Plane Tickets from China, and Stolen Electricity
- Sheriffs Raid Multiple Triad Weed Properties Throughout Central, Northern Maine – Guilford, Mercer, Corinna & Sangerville
- Illegal Marijuana Vexes Northern Maine Town Officials as Out-of-State Criminals Prosper
- Maine Sheriff Raids 8th Illegal Chinese-Owned Marijuana Grow in 8 Months
- Valentine’s Day Bust Breaks Heart of New York Man Illegally Growing 1,310 Pot Plants in Norridgewock, Maine
- Maine State Police Bust Cannabis Grow Ops in Belgrade, Seize 2,300 Plants
- Another One: Turner Firefighters Discover Suspected Illegal Chinese Marijuana Grow Near Bear Pond Variety
- No Arrests as Illicit Chinese Marijuana Grow in Norridgewock Busted
- Fifteen Raids Seize Nearly 20k Black Market Cannabis Plants from Chinese-Controlled Sites in Maine
- Maine Law Enforcement Raids Machias Marijuana Grow, Arrests Three Suspected Non-Citizens
- Maine Sheriff Arrests Two More New Yorkers Linked to Illegal Marijuana Operation in Whitefield
- Two Weeks After $1M Western Maine Marijuana Raid, Wilton Still Abuzz With Illicit Drug Activity
- Chinese Nationals Caught Illegally Entering U.S. Reached Record High in December…
- U.S. Border Agents Arrest Three Chinese “Asylum Seekers” with 23 Fake IDs…
The raids have resulted in multiple arrests of Asian foreign nationals, the seizure and destruction of more than 20,000 illegally grown marijuana plants and thousands of pounds of processed cannabis.
Although law enforcement is loath to admit in public that the recent raids have all been at drug trafficking operations run Chinese men and women, some of whom may have asylum claims, they privately admit what’s obvious to most Mainers: foreign organized crime is running rampant in rural Maine.
Of the hundreds of bills that the State Legislature is set to consider in the current emergency session, Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris) is the author of the only bill relating to the Chinese-controlled drug operations.
“The illicit drug trade by foreign nationals from adversarial nations is a clear and present danger to the State of Maine. This bill will empower prosecutors to go after the conspiracy behind this spider web of illegal activity currently plaguing our state and polluting our legal cannabis markets,” said Rep. Andrews in a comment to The Maine Wire.
The bill, LD 2204, seeks to prevent further illegal grow sites from cropping up in the state, disrupt those which are already in the process of operating or being built, and punish the criminals involved in the illegal operations.
The bill establishes a new crime in the Maine criminal code, racketeering, by enacting into Maine law what’s known as a “Little RICO” statute. Maine would become the 34th state to adopt such a statute.
An individual will be guilty of racketeering if he participates in illegal activities for any criminal enterprise, or if he invests any money from a criminal enterprise back into that enterprise, or into any real estate.
Under Andrews’ bill, racketeering will be a class A felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and fines of $1 million.
If one of the illegal activities involved in the racketeering charge is the trafficking or manufacturing of scheduled drugs, the perpetrator can face up to 30 years in prison.
The court will also be authorized to confiscate any property or real estate from the perpetrator.
This aspect of the bill allows the houses converted into marijuana grow facilities to be confiscated and repaired by the Maine Housing Authority, so that they can re-enter the market and potentially provide some relief for the state’s housing crisis.
Andrews’ bill allows someone accused of racketeering to be exonerated if they are victims of human trafficking who were forced to participate in the criminal activity against their will.
The bill would also give law enforcement access to reports from Maine’s electrical utilities in instances where electricity consumption for a property increases drastically from one month to another.
As detailed in the Maine Wire’s “Triad Weed” investigative series, the black market marijuana grows consume vast amounts of electricity and typically require commercial-grade power upgrades.
Reports from Versant Power and Central Maine Power are already used by law enforcement as part of their investigations into suspected illegal grows; however, Andrews bill would create a process for the power companies to automatically flag suspicious electricity use for law enforcement.
Power companies will also be required to report uses of 400-amps or greater from residences to law enforcement, allowing them to investigate any potential drug related activity.
Finally, the bill takes aim directly at the Chinese foreign nationals attempting to establish illegal operations in Maine.
Any aliens hailing from a hostile nation, including Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran, except for lawful permanent residents, would be unequivocally prohibited from owning real-estate in Maine in any capacity.
This bill would put Maine on the growing list of states which have passed laws preventing Chinese nationals from purchasing land, particularly agricultural land, in their states over national security concerns.
[RELATED: Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman Supports Banning China from Buying American Farmland…]
States such as Florida, Arkansas, and Texas have already implemented measures to prevent China from buying American land.
Andrews’ bill is not the only proposed piece of legislation recently introduced that aimed at fighting the Chinese grow operations in Maine.
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) and Rep. Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) both proposed bills to combat the illicit Chinese drug houses, but their bills were shot down by Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook), House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland), and other Democratic leaders on Maine’s Legislative Council.
A public hearing will be held on Andrews’ bill by the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety at 1:00pm on February 21.
“I look forward to working with the Criminal Justice Committee, Rep. Mike Soboleski and my other cosponsors as well as law enforcement to get this bill across the finish line and on the books as soon as possible,” said Andrews in his comment to The Maine Wire.
Read the bill here.
Watch the hearing here.
What a great idea! Outlaw criminal activity. 🤣
Idiots. I have an idea.
Outlaw legal marijuana sales. Grow it if you want it. The jerk offs buying the garbage are the problem.
That was a bold move by Republicans. Too bad they don’t have spines on most other issues.
The only way to end corruption surrounding mj is legalizing it entirely. When everyone can grow as much as they feel like growing, mj will become worthless, and nobody will commit crimes in order to grow more of it. This in turn SHOULD result in less money spent on state bureaucracy, law enforcement, and jails, which SHOULD result in lower taxes.
It’s amazing this activity could proliferate almost unabated under the noses of our government officials until a real news organization did the hard work to expose the cancer. If some version of this bill does not pass in to law through our state government, those blocking the effort should be voted out at the first opportunity.
Rep. John Andrews please include that bail should not be allowed as they come from other places, Mass. and NY and post the absurd $500.00 in cash and they leave the state. Why are they not held until a quick trial and it should be federal charges and get Immigration to deport. Immigration and Border Patrol should be involved. It’s a Federal Crime.
The Republicans run around trying to clean up problems created by the Democrats. Why?
Honestly, why? Janet Mills even admitted she was going to flood the state with over 75,000 immigrants. That number will most likely be much higher.
As the “Progressives” rapidly pass far-left bills, Republicans chase after them like a dog chasing a ball, cleaning up their mess?
The issue with Republican voters is they vote for soft, limp-wristed candidates that do not have the balls to do anything. We need strong men who are not afraid to confront the far-left and to think outside of the box when dealing with strategies to defeat the Democrats.
It would be much better if this article included interviews/statements from politicians that opposed previous efforts.
Let’s get some daylight on that so that people here their reasons.
We are at a point where White people need to start living their daily lives with a WN lens on 24/7. White people in Maine should call the police whenever they see a chink and tell them that they spotted an invader. Take pictures of all people who don’t belong in this country whether you think they are here legally or not. Flood the system with all kinds of White advocacy and watch it fall apart.